The Oscars are upon us, but in the meantime, the world goes on. Everywhere, something is happening that we know little, to nothing, about. Imagine being whisked away into a small corner of the globe, at an undisclosed location, to the life and times of strangers. Speaking of that, there is a new movie, brought to you by Netflix. It is entitled “Windfall.” Full disclosure: you might not completely grasp the meaning of that title, but if you pay attention and give yourself a chance to reflect on the story, afterward, it might just make sense… maybe!

If you ever wondered what it would be like to watch a film with a limited cast, look no further. In total, you will see no more than four characters in “Windfall” and that is fine. The director is Charlie McDowell (“The Discovery”) and three of the four aforementioned actors are involved in other ways, as well. Jason Segal (“The Sky is Everywhere”) plays as the character ‘Nobody’ and helped contribute to the story, though not the screenplay. Lily Collins (“Inheritance”) plays the role of ‘Wife’ and was listed as a producer on the movie. The same goes for Jesse Plemons (“The Power of the Dog”), who plays as ‘CEO.’

Within the first few minutes of the film, our three, primary characters have all been introduced to one another. If the opening credits gave you the vibe of a European movie in the 1960s, you are not alone in that, either. I must add, right here, I do not care for the style of music that is used here and, seemingly, in so many other movies these days. It is really just a matter of preference, but there it is, just for the record.

Nobody comes upon a house and begins to look around. Once CEO and Wife arrive and catch him in the act of breaking and entering, Nobody has the two of them sit down and finds out where they are stashing any money within the house. Right away, CEO talks down to Nobody and tests his anger, which comes up, again, repeatedly. At first, it seems like Nobody is content with just a few thousand dollars, in cash, and once he secures CEO and Wife into a location that will give him some time to make his getaway, he begins to leave, only to discover that there is a camera, which may or may not have been recording his movements as he arrived and was set to leave. Was that wordy enough? Hopefully…

Nobody comes back to the couple and demands their attention, yet again. He now has a gun, which he found on the property upon his return. He is now under the impression that he needs more money. I have no idea how being spotted on a camera would lead to this, logically, but the three characters then discuss a figure and it is agreed to. As the arrangements are made, they all get to know each other a bit better. At times, it reminded me of “The Ref,” only it is not nearly as funny, by design. At this point, there are a couple of ‘80s film references made. One is less direct, but so iconic that you cannot miss it and the other is a clever jab at the story’s scenario. Somehow, I was getting the impression that CEO was still in his own head about things, while Wife and Nobody seemed to be bonding, just for the time being.

What I would add, here, is that there are little details within the plot that never really materialize. The name ‘Debbie’ is mentioned a couple of times, in reference to an issue the couple had to deal with in the past, but it is never revealed what it was. I was, also, waiting for a payoff in the Nobody character, connected to CEO, and it was not a very big payoff. It did not feel personal enough, to me.

As time goes on, anther character emerges, jus to throw a monkey in the wrench. Things escalate, unexpectedly, when tragedy befalls this man, but who is truly to blame? The movie gets a lot darker, at this point, and stays that way for the duration of the film. If you think you know what is going to happen, think again. That was how I felt, at least. The only thing I can think of, in hindsight, was that there was a tidbit of information exchanged between Nobody and Wife, earlier in the movie, and it might have made the ending a little bit easier to swallow and digest, so to speak. However as it stands, it is too ambiguous of an ending for me to approve of. I was left wondering, “What happened?”

“Windfall,” in my estimation, is a pretty good movie that falls down to something average and mostly forgettable with its strange ending. I was enjoying most of the character interactions and acting performances, but was displeased with the way things turned out. Yes, there are better movies to watch, but there are, surely, a lot worse, too. Try not to drop below that line, if you can, but do not expect greatness, either. At least it is not a three-hour film.

Director: Charlie McDowell
Screenwriters: Justin Lader, Andrew Kevin Walker (“Nerdland”)
Music: Danny Bensi, Saunder Jurriaans
Starring: Jason Segel, Lily Collins, Jesse Plemons, Omar Leyvar as Gardener
Distributor: Netflix
Release: March 18th, 2022